LP Tractors
Printed From: Unofficial Allis
Category: Allis Chalmers
Forum Name: Farm Equipment
Forum Description: everything about Allis-Chalmers farm equipment
URL: https://www.allischalmers.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=43385
Printed Date: 28 Sep 2024 at 10:42pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: LP Tractors
Posted By: Austin(WI)
Subject: LP Tractors
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 7:38pm
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I am just curious about the 190XT LP Tractors....are there any left out there? I remember there was something in Norms book about them being the last and also not having the best record of reliability. Is that true...and why? Does anyone on here have a 190XT LP? When did LP tractors make an entrance and why did they kind of disappear? I know I have heard that the LP is a lot cleaner to burn and doesn't goo up the engine components and oil as fast. How hard was it to fill the tanks on them? I guess I don't know much about them and want to learn some background on them. AF ------------- "Better By Design" |
Replies:
Posted By: Ryan Renko
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 7:44pm
| I always wondered about filling those lp tanks also!! How did you fill them?? Out of what storage tank?? Was it anymore dangerous than pumping gas?? How was the economy verse gas?? Ryan |
Posted By: omahagreg
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 7:46pm
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I believe Andrew Gubbels bought a 190 XT LP at an auction couple of years back. I think he converted it to gas. Must not have been worth restoring the LP or he would have, I would think. Maybe he will chime in too. ------------- Greg Kroeker 1950 WD with wide front and Freeman trip loader |
Posted By: TedBuiskerN.IL.
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 8:00pm
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There was one in the Durand, IL. area, but I have lost track of it now. I have a D19LP, runs good. Filling is easy, just hook the tractor tank to an LP tank, then vent the tractor tank to lower the pressure until the liquid flows from the nurse tank. Not a good idea to smoke during this time. ------------- Most problems can be solved with the proper application of high explosives. |
Posted By: AMB(wcIL)
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 8:07pm
| I know thier is one near Bluffs Il. I think it is also a narrow front tractor as well. Saw it about 3 years ago. Andy |
Posted By: Orange Blood
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 8:37pm
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We run a lot of LP tractors in our family. Started with the WDs, and have up to a D19, would love to find a 190, had a lead on one, but didn't get it. They tend to run cheaper on the buying side, because fueling them is a bit harder. We fuel ours off of the house tank, Grandpa had a pump for his. They are not that hard to fuel at all, but unlike a gas can, you have more money tied up in storage equipment, and hoses, etc. There is a bit of fear I am sure that some people have about LP, and it can be very serious, but so can gas. I love them, yes the insides stay cleaner, they burn cleaner, they run smother, and I think quieter, they for sure start better. Even on the coldest of days the LPs will fire on the first revolution if the fuel system is primed, we tend to shut off the tanks so it takes an extra second of cranking to bring them to life. ------------- Still in use: HD7 WC C CA WD 2-WD45 WD45LP WD45D D14 3-D17 D17LP 2-D19D D19LP 190XTD 190XTLP 720 D21 220 7020 7030 7040 7045 3-7060 Projects: 3-U UC 2-G 2-B 2-C CA 7-WC RC WDLP WF D14 D21 210 7045 N7 |
Posted By: bradley6874
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 8:46pm
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date was 12 9 but here is one http://lincoln.craigslist.org/grd/2744187708.html - http://lincoln.craigslist.org/grd/2744187708.html ------------- You can wash the dirt off the body but you can’t wash the farmer out of the heart and soul |
Posted By: Joe(TX)
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 8:47pm
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The tank you fill from needs to have a liquid line. I know of a few 190 propane tractors. I saw one on Craigs list last week. I think it was in Oklahoma.
Lots of propane tractors around here at one time. I have a WD that still has the Propane/Gasolene carb on it. Too bad the tank and vaporizer is gone. ------------- 1970 190XT, 1973 200, 1962 D-19 Diesel, 1979 7010, 1957 WD45, 1950 WD, 1961 D17, Speed Patrol, D14, All crop 66 big bin, 180 diesel, 1970 170 diesel, FP80 forklift. Gleaner A |
Posted By: Orange Blood
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 8:51pm
That's Rays place I believe, will have to give him a shout. Thanks!! ------------- Still in use: HD7 WC C CA WD 2-WD45 WD45LP WD45D D14 3-D17 D17LP 2-D19D D19LP 190XTD 190XTLP 720 D21 220 7020 7030 7040 7045 3-7060 Projects: 3-U UC 2-G 2-B 2-C CA 7-WC RC WDLP WF D14 D21 210 7045 N7 |
bradley6874 wrote:Posted By: dustinmo
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 9:45pm
| I know of one, two brothers that work with my dad have one, They loaded a 33 picker I bought from them with it. |
Posted By: allischalmerguy
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 10:33pm
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I grew up driving LP tractors and filling them as a lad. We had a 530 Case LP, 720 John Deere LP, 3020 John Deere LP. They also are supposed to run longer in between overhaul, because they run so clean. At one time they were much cheaper to run than gasoline. That is why my Dad got them. But if you ran out of gas, you could not use a gas can! You had to tow it or bring a bottle in the back of the pickup. We had a small lp tank, (bigger than the bottles people used on their home gas stoves) that we put in the back of the pickup to refill when we were away from the home farm. I never did run out of LP gas! One day I was cultivating with the John Deere 720 LP, and it was hot as a blister out. All of a sudden their was this big bang/pop! I thought the tractor engine had blew and boy would Dad be mad at me! I must of done something wrong! It ended up to be the safety valve blew on the LP tank on the tractor. It built up too much pressure and released some then it was Ok. It did seem like it took longer to fill. That 720 JD had a big LP tank and would run a long time between fills. Dad always warned us to be alert in filing in-case a hose broke or something like that. ------------- It is great being a disciple of Jesus! 1950 WD, 1957 D17...retired in Iowa, |
Posted By: allischalmerguy
Date Posted: 07 Jan 2012 at 10:37pm
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Clarification....I said "It did seem like it took longer to fill." I meant that when you were filling up a LP tractor that it did seem like it took a little longer to fill it than if I filled up our 806 Farmall Gas tractor did. ------------- It is great being a disciple of Jesus! 1950 WD, 1957 D17...retired in Iowa, |
Posted By: Wendell(OK/TX)
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 12:26am
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I have a D-15II LP. Not bad to fill if you have the equipment and don't mind smelling a "little" like propane when you are done. Dad used LP tractors when I was growing up so I already had some experience with them and still use his (mine now) tank and valves for filling. Luckily the guy I bought the tractor from gave me the fill hose with it, those are not cheap to have made and Dad's was rotten from age. Like said above, you have to have liquid valve on tank and you need an older small bottle just in case. The new OPD valves on the 20-30 lb bottles will not let you get liquid out. The engines do run cleaner, plugs and oil last a lot longer. Fuel doesn't get old and carbs don't gunk up when they set for long periods of time. Winter starting requires a good battery. Wouldn't mind having 190 LPG but not n the budget right now. |
Posted By: SHAMELESS
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 1:34am
| i used to haul LP, and when i made farm deliveries, the owners of those tractors always had me fill them off the truck!, what a pain in the (_._) that was! the worst was a Massey had to run the hose thru the steering wheel to hook up! my boss at the LP plant had a JD diesel and a JD LP, both bought new the same year, the LP tractor would outpull the diesel on plowing! |
Posted By: TimNearFortWorth
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 6:19am
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DwayneTX on here has a nice one and the 190 with that large LP tank in the back looks pretty neat. TX and OK have many LP tractors still around, plus big ol' MM LP engines on irrigation pumps it seems.
One of my D15II units is the factory LP setup and they do start instantly, in any weather. Seems to run cooler and there is a big difference when you pull the dipstick on the LP vs. the gas engine unit as the LP runs cleaner on the bottom end also.
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Posted By: Orange Blood
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 7:44am
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Maybe we should all stop bragging about the LPs, because I won't be able to buy them as cheap anymore!?!? :-) ------------- Still in use: HD7 WC C CA WD 2-WD45 WD45LP WD45D D14 3-D17 D17LP 2-D19D D19LP 190XTD 190XTLP 720 D21 220 7020 7030 7040 7045 3-7060 Projects: 3-U UC 2-G 2-B 2-C CA 7-WC RC WDLP WF D14 D21 210 7045 N7 |
Posted By: Adam Stratton
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 7:48am
| We still run several Allis LP tractors and use them on a regular basis. Grandpa has a dual fuel 45, D14, D17, D19 and 190XT all on factory LP. We have side tanks on the 3 biggest tractors so we can run a full day without fueling. The difficulty transporting LP is the biggest downside I see, but I made some adapters to use a BBQ tank to carry a little bit here and there when needed. I would really like to have a D15 Lp like Wendell has to complete the set. |
Posted By: Armand(AZ)
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 8:18am
| Charlie Widlund in IA owns a 190 LP that I used photos of to build a 1/16th model. I grew up in SD driving MM LP tractors. We pulled a 500 Gal tank on a running gear to the fields with us to fill off of. I was 12 or 13 at the time and filled the tractor with no problems. We never had ice chests to keep our Pepsi cold but a shot from the LP hose would cool a bottle it in a heartbeat. But we never let the boss see us do it!!! Armand |
Posted By: Dusty MI
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 9:39am
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Some stand by generaters are fueled with LP because it never gets old. Dusty ------------- 917 H, '48 G, '65 D-10 series III "Allis Express" |
Posted By: Kurt WI
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 1:46pm
| My question is why did all manufactures leave lp and just go to diesel? LP at the end should have been getting more available since more houses were going to lp. Kurt |
Posted By: JohnCO
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 2:17pm
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I think there were a couple reasons LP lost favor on farms. Perhaps the biggest hassle was refueling. It wasn't a big deal on a small tractor that would run a couple days or more on a tank while doing chores, but for the big 100 plus hp tractors, the tank would just be too big to be able to run for even a full day doing heavy tillage. An other major factor is that there are more btu's per pound of fuel in diesel. Perhaps the biggest reason was the conveyance of having one fuel for all the machinery and just being able to pull up to a fuel tank and gravity feed into the tractor, without having to worry about escaped gas starting a fire. There may have been a cost factor also although I know in the oil patch LP was dirt cheap as it was almost a waste product. In the upper Midwest trying to start an LP tractor in the winter was not easy, especially if the temp was below zero as the gas would rather be a liquid and was hard to regasify.
------------- "If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer" Allis Express participant |
Posted By: 427435
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 4:50pm
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John mentioned a couple of reasons, but the biggest was the price of LP became uncompetitive to diesel in most areas. The last company to offer LP tractors was Moline and they were phased out when they shut down their Minneapolis plant in the mid 70's. The engine tooling was bought by a company in Arkansas and the engines were continued in production for a number of years after for use as stationary engines in the oil fields and for irrigating-------usually running on natural gas.
------------- Mark B10 Allis, 917 Allis, 7116 Simplicity, 7790 Simplicity Diesel, GTH-L Simplicity Ignorance is curable-----stupidity is not. |
Posted By: Dennis(IA)
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 5:15pm
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Dad bought a new 190XT LP in 1966. He ordered it with the hydrualic pto engagment option. If I remember right 1966 was the first year with the 1-2 3-4 5-6 & 7-8 gear shift pattern. That was a sweet tractor. Dad got sick from diesel fumes, and LP had better fuel economy than gas when you get that HP of a tractor. Don't remember when he got rid of it as I left farming in 1973. He bought it from the dealer in Columbus, NE. back then, I hope that tractor is still around.
Dennis
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Posted By: injpumpEd
Date Posted: 08 Jan 2012 at 5:18pm
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while their diesels were not the most modern, a Minneapolis Moline was the tractor to have if you wanted LP.
------------- 210 "too hot to farm" puller, part of the "insane pumpkin posse". Owner of Guenther Heritage Diesel, specializing in fuel injection systems on heritage era tractors. stock rebuilds to all out pullers! |
Posted By: Austin(WI)
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2012 at 8:17am
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Wow, Thanks everyone! There were a lot of interesting posts about this. :)
------------- "Better By Design" |
Posted By: Don(MI)
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2012 at 8:37am
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To comment further on what mark said, they do use many LP stationary engines in Arkansas, for irrigation to rice fields. Each field has to be flooded, and the engines pump the fields full of water, and its drained off for harvest.
Almost makes me wish I had an LP tractor now!! ------------- Galatians 5:22-24 "I got a pig at home in a pen and corn to feed him on, All I need is a pretty little girl to feed him when I'm gone!" |
Posted By: DonDittmar
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2012 at 12:12pm
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Heat is one of the reasons propane lost favor. There is more heat in diesel fuel than in gas or LP.....34% more btus in diesel fuel than in LP if the web page I was just at was right., and thats per gallon, and being the internal combustion engine is actually a "heat" engine.....well you see where I am going with this
One plus is LP's has a much higher ocatane rating compared to gas, thats why LP tractors used higher compression pistons ------------- Experience is a fancy name for past mistakes. "Great moments are born from great opportunity" 1968 D15D,1962 D19D Also 1965 Cub Loboy and 1958 JD 720 Diesel Pony Start |
Posted By: Pat the Plumber CIL
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2012 at 9:05pm
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I worked for an older, hard as nails,lived through the depression kind of farmer when I was 20-21 years old.He had all MM with LP as fuel source. HE had every MM they made from z's and r's to G1000's and G1135's? He filled them out of a large 30' long tank with an electric pump.Had to bleed off tank on tractor to fill.Also had a 500 gal tank on a heavy axle to fill tractors in field.No smokers allowed on his farm.Never saw any problems ,but had to work carefully around it just like gas.
He claimed he bought into LP in late 60's to avoid road tax on fuel.He liked cleaner burning,but claimed they burned leaner and were harder on valves.Small tractors were much more efficient ,while the larger tractors really sucked up the LP while doing field work.When LP was dirt cheap this was no big deal,as it got more expensive it lost its favor. ------------- You only need to know 3 things to be a plumber;Crap rolls down hill,Hot is on the left and Don't bite your fingernails 1964 D-17 SIV 3 Pt.WF,1964 D-15 Ser II 3pt.WF ,1960 D-17 SI NF,1956 WD 45 WF. |
Posted By: Dipstick In
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2012 at 9:57pm
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John Co and Pat the Plumber had comments on LP tractors that were right. I had a G-1000 MM for some time. It had 2- 30 gallon tanks on it, and if I was going to work all day, they needed to be filled, full, that means you didn't look at the gauge and quit when the gauge said 85%, you filled until the "spitter" valve, the gas vapor bleed-off valve started spitting liquid. This would put the level somewhere above 95%. when you got in the field, I started working with the rear tank until it got below at least 80%, because it was behind the engine and over the transmission and got a fair amount of heat. Then I would switch to the front tank in front of the radiator and used it until it ran out or power dropped meaning it was empty, then back to the rear tank till quitting time. That old girl was only rated at 110 hp, but everyone of those ponies were the big black kind in a pull!!!!!
JohnCo, I also had trouble getting mine to start and run right until I had warm water in the vaporizer to gasify the liquid when it was really cold out. Mostly had to plug it in like a diesel to start early in the mornning. It wasn't to much different to me than a diesel in that respect.
I replaced it with a 1976 7060 and it was a lot better all around. ------------- You don't really have to be smart if you know who is! |
Posted By: Dave in il
Date Posted: 09 Jan 2012 at 10:48pm
| The big Minnies were probably the last production LPs over 100hp? I think modern diesel motors were easier to get higher horsepower from reliably and economically . Everyone was in a race to build a 100hp tractor, then 120 and after 150hp, the sky was the limit. |